[Advaita-l] Question about Sri Vidyaranya's JMV & jnani matra

[Anand Hudli]

On Thu, Apr 4, 2019 at 10:16 AM Bhaskar YR via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>>
Madhusudana points out that in the destruction of threads that make a
cloth, the cloth persists for a moment before being destroyed. In this
case, the destruction of threads that make the cloth is the cause of the
destruction of the cloth. However, a logical principle is involved that
says a cause and effect cannot be simultaneous, i.e. both existing in the
same moment. So we have to say that the cloth gets destroyed a moment later
after the threads get destroyed.

>  to this dull wit, not able to understand the example itself.  If we go
by our regular or routine anubhava, clothes are made of threads, threads
are made of cotton (as raw material), if the cloth is already there means
the threads have already been knitted.  So here, cotton is the upAdAna for
thread and thread is upAdAna for cloth.  Don’t we first tear off the cloth
to get the threads??  How can we maintain the cloth to first destroy the
thread and claim that cloth will be there for a movement after destroying
the thread!!??  Can there be a cloth (kArya) without the thread (kAraNa)
when the very existence of cloth is because of thread??  And I am not able
to understand negation of cause and effect simultaneous existence.  When
the 'ring' is seen from its upAdhi drushti (nAma rUpa) it is a 'ring' but
the same ring viewed from its upAdAna (svarUpa) drushti it Is 'gold' only.
Are we not seeing the same thing differently from two different view
points??  When we dip a stick in the water, it looks like it is curved but
when we touch the stick we experience its straightness.  Are we not getting
the two different jnana from the same pramANa i.e. pratyaksha??

>>

The cloth example is taken from nyAya shAstra, where the cloth is supposed
to inhere in the threads that make the cloth. When the cloth is burned, the
threads get burnt and this results in the cloth getting burnt too. Here,
the samavAyikAraNa of the cloth are the threads and the effect is cloth. So
what the naiyAyikas hold is that the cause gets destroyed first and a
moment later, the effect, cloth gets destroyed. The cause and effect in the
case of samavAyikAraNa cannot exist simultaneiously. The gold as gold
exists simultaneously with the ring. But the particular lump of gold which
was used to make the ring cannot exist simultaneously with its effect, the
ring.

>>
>  Please let me know whether we have to wait till complete exhaustion of
prArabdha even after paripUrNa jnana??  Since prArabdha is the
pratibandhaka to mOksha / jnana and prArabdha is in the form of
continuation of jnAni's BMI jnAni cannot be assured of mOksha / jnana till
the 'death' of his physical body.  From this we get the unwarranted
conclusion that in Advaita absolute moksha is possible only after physical
death of the jnAni because as long as his body is live jnAni's prArabdha
(sUkshmAvasthAvidyA) would act as 'pratibandhaka' to the absolute mOksha /
jnana.
>>
Yes, there is no Videha moksha until the exhaustion of prArabdha, but there
can be jIvanmukti. That is the whole  point. In jIvanmukti, there is no
AvaraNa-shakti to conceal Brahman, but the vikShepa-shakti of mAyA is still
active. Upon exhaustion of prArabdha, even the projective power is
nullified and there remains only Brahman.

Anand